Review: Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge

Cruel Beauty
Rosamund Hodge
Published: January 28, 2014
Balzer +  Bray
Hardcover, 342 pages

Graceling meets Beauty and the Beast in this sweeping fantasy about one girl's journey to fulfill her destiny and the monster who gets in her way-by stealing her heart.Based on the classic fairy tale Beauty and the Beast, Cruel Beauty is a dazzling love story about our deepest desires and their power to change our destiny. Since birth, Nyx has been betrothed to the evil ruler of her kingdom-all because of a foolish bargain struck by her father. And since birth, she has been in training to kill him. With no choice but to fulfill her duty, Nyx resents her family for never trying to save her and hates herself for wanting to escape her fate. Still, on her seventeenth birthday, Nyx abandons everything she's ever known to marry the all-powerful, immortal Ignifex. Her plan? Seduce him, destroy his enchanted castle, and break the nine-hundred-year-old curse he put on her people.But Ignifex is not at all what Nyx expected. The strangely charming lord beguiles her, and his castle-a shifting maze of magical rooms-enthralls her.As Nyx searches for a way to free her homeland by uncovering Ignifex's secrets, she finds herself unwillingly drawn to him. Even if she could bring herself to love her sworn enemy, how can she refuse her duty to kill him? With time running out, Nyx must decide what is more important: the future of her kingdom, or the man she was never supposed to love. --GoodReads

3 Stars

Review:

OK, so I read this about a month ago, and I've been meaning to get to a review of this... jeez, it has been a while, hasn't it? So therefore, my review isn't going to be so much of a review, but rather some kind of rant thing.... I'm just going off the bits and pieces I remember, so bear with me, folks. 

Summary Rosie-style- From what I remember, a father makes a deal with a demon prince, and it all goes horribly wrong. With demons, you gotta remember to choose your words very carefully. At the time, his wife, pregnant, was very sick, and he wished that his twin girls would come out healthy and happy. However, he forgot to wish for his wife's health, and she ends up dying. There's a catch, though. The father sealed away the fate for one of his daughters, Nyx, who is fated to marry this demon prince, Ignifex. She's super bitter about this and tries not to hate her twin sister, who got the better part of the bargain. Her sister, on the other hand, receives all the love and attention from daddy, while Nix receives the "heroic" speech stuff. She gets the "Oh it's your duty to kill the demon prince and blah blah" and is reminded everyday of her terrible fate.

So she goes and marries the demon prince, right? Except he's not exactly what she expects. No matter how many times she [pathetically] tries to kill him, she never succeeds, and every time he brushes her off like a bug. He's very compliant and has quite a humorous approach to his situation. Apparently, being a supreme ruler with awesome powers becomes very boring, so much to the point of marrying a woman who YOU KNOW wants to kill you. The demon prince, master of all deals, makes Nyx a bargain. If she can guess his true identity, she will be set free, no questions asked. BUT, if she guesses wrong, he will turn her into stone, and she will forever reside in his haunted castle unable to do anything but be aware of her surroundings. So as a living result of a bargain gone wrong, she opts for the other route and explores his castle for ways to kill him and escape. 

So the whole book is about her relationship with her sister (Nyx struggles especially with her feelings about her sister. Her feelings of love and hatred battle throughout the book) , her father (who she yearns to receive approval from), her aunt (who shacks up with Nyx's father), and Ignifex (to whom she can't resist her carnal attraction!!! ooOOOoo ♥♥♥) Oh, and did I mention his Shadow? She falls in love with his Shadow, a mirror image of Ignifiex, a seemingly more human side of him, but possibly another trapped man?

Characters: Alright, now that the summary stuff is done, lemme tell you MY impressions of the characters. 

Nyx- So she lives there for a coupla years and cannot do jack****. She stinks as an assassin, and for a majority of the book (she narrates it, she's the POV) she just complains about her situation and ponders what she can do to possibly escape it. She worries over things she can't control, and she hates herself for being attracted to Ignifex. Also, she is so indecisive!!! Her feelings about her family change from chapter to chapter - I swear - and her love from Shadow to Ignifex changes every time one of them kisses her. Or maybe from page to page. At least it feels like that...you try to root for her, but she changes her mind way too much.

Ignifex- Ok, so he's super badass, and pretty funny when needs to be. He puts up with a failure of an assassin wife. He's a thumbs-up in my book.

Shadow- Um, is it just me, or is cheating on your demon husband with his shadow kinda WRONG??

Father- 5 Star jerk. Has sex with his dead wife's sister. Feels no remorse for what he's done, inadvertently killing his sick pregnant wife while selling the soul of his oldest daughter to the demon lord, all the while telling her its her duty to save the city, AND giving all his affection to his other clueless daughter. 

Astraia- Nyx's twin sister who gets the better part of the deal. Nyx says some pretty crappy things to her before going off to marry the prince...It's not really Astraia's fault - in fact, it's her father's fault for it all happening, yet Nyx despises her sister for a good part of the novel. But then loves her sister. But then hates her. She actually is pretty badass though...

Plot- Sooo, the city they all live in is taken over by some sort of dark force/demons, and is plucked away from the normal world. Um. The demon prince controls the demons, which everybody fears because once you see a demon, you're pretty much down for the count, aka DEAD. They live in a world where it's similar to Earth, but no really. They have a fake sun and such... it's like they're all living inside the pages of a book. Or at least that's how I imagined it. It really gets quite confusing how everything is explained.

The author tries to make a mish-mash between Beauty and the Beast and Greek Mythology, but it's just kind of a warble between the two. I can see how some aspects of Beauty and the Beast play into it - the living house - and how Greek Mythology plays into it, since Nyx's family worships Greek Gods... but that's pretty much it. Hodge kind of just goes on her own path and creates a story that hits you from out of nowhere. This book will not be what you will expect....but in a semi-good way I guess?

BTW - the pace is kind of slow, but it really doesn't feel that way. Unless you hate reading about indecisive POVs - now that could go really slowly. Not to spoil it, but it does end kind of weirdly. It takes a turn that you really don't expect... deus ex machina?

Overall- OK..... uh. If you like mish-mashing of stories you already know and don't mind indecisive MCs, then this is the book for you! One thing I really liked was the emotional progression of the relationship between Ignifex and Nyx. It wasn't supahfast like some YA novels, but was instead very realistic. The way the background info explained was a little shakey and a bit confusing. SO DON'T SKIM.

Happy Reading, folks!

Review: Nobody by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Nobody
By Jennifer Lynn Barnes
Published Published January 22nd, 2013 
Publisher: EgmontUSA 

Hardcover, 393 pages

There are people in this world who are Nobody. No one sees them. No one notices them. They live their lives under the radar, forgotten as soon as you turn away.

That’s why they make the perfect assassins.

The Institute finds these people when they’re young and takes them away for training. But an untrained Nobody is a threat to their organization. And threats must be eliminated.

Sixteen-year-old Claire has been invisible her whole life, missed by the Institute’s monitoring. But now they’ve ID’ed her and send seventeen-year-old Nix to remove her. Yet the moment he lays eyes on her, he can’t make the hit. It’s as if Claire and Nix are the only people in the world for each other. And they are—because no one else ever notices them. -Goodreads

Review

What if you were nobody? Someone without any friends or other relationships, and you're always forgotten it's almost like you aren't even there. That is the case for two teenagers, Claire and Nix. They grew up differently, but they are the same, they're Nobodies, invisible. Claire has parents, but they need sticky notes to remind themselves about her, so she does what she can to get by, emerging herself in imaginary situations. Nix grew up in a bare, blank room, raised by a group called the Society. His job is to assassinate Nulls, people who are the exact opposites of Nobodies, Nulls don't have feelings and can easily manipulate normal people, which is why they can be very dangerous and need to be killed. That's why Nix is sent to kill Claire, he is led to believe that she is a Null, but somehow, she can see him. That totally shocks him, and eventually he realizes that they are both Nobodies. What else has the Society hidden from him?

 I really pity both Claire and Nix, but more Nix. Both of them are very lonely, but Nix has definitely had it harder, after all he was trained to become an assassin (and a very harsh training at that). The characters of Claire and Nix are a bit meh, I mean they're lonely and unloved, but they need a bit more depth. Nix also had a much better background story that really showed you his pain and suffering, and all the wounds (literally and figuratively) that he has.

I love the idea of Nobodies, Nulls, and Sensors (people who can detect Nobodies and Nulls), and the concept of energy (or lack of) that gives them their powers. I think that it is a very unique idea, which is why I decided to give this book a try. I also like the alternating viewpoints of Claire and Nix, that way you can see how similar yet different they are from each other. The ending was just adorable (the epilogue) and so lovely. I am a bit sentimental, and I love happy endings, and this does not disappoint. After the last major battle scene, everything wraps up quite nicely, and Nix finds redemption.

The first third was kinda slow and boring, it seems to take Nix the longest time to realize that Claire is also a Null (I got kinda frustrated at how obvious it was). Finally, once that happened, they fell instantly in love. What is this folks? Yes, insta-love, that dreaded curse. I guess it may be more understandable as they are the only two Nobodies around (or are they?) and they've never met someone like them, but really. You think that maybe it would take a little bit more time for them to fall in love. Anyway, the book really picks up after the realization, and the rest is quite interesting and action packed. I also wish the Society was explained better and more in depth. 

Overall I would recommend this to anyone who likes a unique science fiction romance, with mysteries abound. 

Purchase this book at: Amazon / Barnes and Noble /  The Book Depository

Review: Scarlet by A.C. Gaughen

Scarlet

By A.C. Gaughen

Released: February 14, 2012

Publisher: Walker Childrens

Hardcover, 292 pages

Many readers know the tale of Robin Hood, but they will be swept away by this new version full of action, secrets, and romance. 

Posing as one of Robin Hood’s thieves to avoid the wrath of the evil Thief Taker Lord Gisbourne, Scarlet has kept her identity secret from all of Nottinghamshire. Only the Hood and his band know the truth: the agile thief posing as a whip of a boy is actually a fearless young woman with a secret past. Helping the people of Nottingham outwit the corrupt Sheriff of Nottingham could cost Scarlet her life as Gisbourne closes in.

It’s only her fierce loyalty to Robin—whose quick smiles and sharp temper have the rare power to unsettle her—that keeps Scarlet going and makes this fight worth dying for.  --GoodReads

Three Stars!

Review

Ah, yes. Yet another fairy tale retelling of an old, OLD classic. Passed down from one generation to the next by word of mouth, no one really knows the original, but rather the "renditions" of previous stories. A whisper down the lane game, if you will. Robin Hood is the story of a fearless, as-honest-as-you-can-get thief, that steals from the pompous rich and gives without fail to the poor. Based upon a well known story known throughout the world, A.C. Gaughen pulls off a gender-blending story centered on the Hood's female partner-in-crime. 

Now, truth to be told, when someone mentions the name,"Robin Hood" to me out of the blue, I would never ever suspect a girl. 

I think this counts as a traditional Robin. Doncha think?

Sorry. Doesn't come to mind...

However, this is (almost) exactly what Gaughen thought of. At first, I was really excited. I mean, a girl creaming a guy in the art of thievery? Heck yeah! Count me in! Scarlet even specifies at one point that she has to teach all of the guys in her troop how to thieve properly (err, if there's actually a way to break the laws properly...)

YEAH! Love the fist.

Scarlet, the main protagonist, narrates the story in such a great way. She's crude, rude, and fits in with all the other guys in her "band" of lads. This band is made up of her, Robin Hood, Little John, and Much. Not to mention that she's one bad-ass with the knives. But, somehow, even with her foul mouth, she attracts the attention of two worthy-to-be-mentioned guys, the Hood and John. This is why I have a love/hate YA novels. No matter how insecure, rude, crude, sassy, silly, or introverted the main gal POV is, there's always 2 guys that fall head over heels in love. While I love the fact that the 2 coolest guys in the story fall in love with Scarlet, I also loathe the fact that it's so unrealistic and sometimes a bit cheesy. 

Anyway.... back to the main point. I mean, I love Scarlet's potty mouth, but she's so over emotional about her past. I don't know. It's the one chink in her armor. Oh, yeah, and expressing her feelings without blowing up as red as a tomato. 

Like a tomato. Seriously.

But well... I suppose that's what makes her  a believable character. If you don't mind reading about some head strong girl fighting a guy 30 times stronger than her but is as shy as a lily when it comes to talking about love...well, have fun! Cause I didn't. Not really. 

Another thing: this has to do with Robin and John. Remember how I said that both boys are seriously infatuated with this poor girl? Well, Scarlet leaves them hanging for quite a some time and as you know, boys  with raging lusty hormones fighting over a girl that "just doesn't know who to pick because she loooooooves them both" doesn't end very well. Scarlet's indecisiveness really irked me. You can't have both Scarlet! You may have a six-pack (well, probably. She goes so long without eating and works out as a career, why not throw in a couple of abs. She more than deserves it.)

Just image this on Scarlet. I dare you to.

Oh. Don't get me started on her eating habits! They were really bad, even for an anorexic girl. Scarlet calmly states throughout the book that she's not eaten for weeks and days on end. Not to mention the fact that she's the type of person that fills others' stomachs before one's own. John and Robin nag her constantly to eat (I don't blame them. Curves are way better than bones for a teenage boy...*cough*) and Scarlet takes it as an offense. She says she can barely choke down two bites, and hates to accept charity when THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT SHE'S DOING TO FEED THE VILLAGERS. I BET THEY DON'T LIKE IT TOO BUT THEY ACCEPT IT ANYWAY BECAUSE WHO DOESN'T LIKE FREE STUFF THEY'RE STARVING. So in reality, I believe that Scarlet ends up looking something like this:

Bbnieoanfidasj!!!!! TOO SKINNY!

Sooooo, back on to the overall analysis. 

Plot: It was interesting at first but doesn't give you the feeling of "I CANNOT PUT THIS DOWN UNTIL I FINISH IT" sort of reads. It was a bit flimsy and it mainly focused on Scarlet's, John's, Robin's interactions and daily routines.

Style: Robin Hood does take place in England, so some of the slang is a bit hard to understand at first, but you get used to it. It's rough and some  a LOT of the grammar is incorrect (so if you're a perfectionist or have OCD, this may be a problem for you.) Here. Let me give you a few sentences as examples.

 "[The bar] were heaving with bodies, laughs, and mugs slinging 'bout," (Gaughen 1).

"He were the youngest of us, too, bare sixteen, which didn't help none but Rob knew what Much were capable of in true." (Gaughen 2)

There's a lot of lads', lasses', and were's. The were's were the worst. They drove me insane...

Overall, if you're looking for a medium-quick read (depending how fast you read), a fairy tale retelling, cheesy love triangle and foreign slang doesn't bog you down while reading, go check out Scarlet. All I can say is that it's not half bad. (Although I am a bit disappointed with the lack of a sturdy, interesting, edge of the seat story. I loved the book because of the concept of a female side kick to the famous Robin Hood). Just don't get your hopes up too high for this one.

Happy Reading Everyone!

Order online at: Amazon/ Barnes&Noble/ The Book Depository

Cover Reveal: Taking Shots and Trying to Score by Toni Aleo

Taking Shots (Assassins #1)

By Toni Aleo 

Publisher: Loveswept

Expected Publication: May 13, 2013

In Toni Aleo’s exhilarating debut, the first in a series featuring the hockey hunks of the Nashville Assassins, a reformed bad boy helps a charming, willful woman face off against the demons of her past.

No matter how hard she tries, Elleanor Fisher never thinks she’s good enough, from her job to her weight to her love life. After enduring years of abuse at the hands of an ex-boyfriend, Elli has been drifting through life in a daze. Until, that is, she meets Shea Adler on a promotional shoot for the NHL’s Nashville Assassins. Before Elli knows what’s happening, the gorgeous Shea breaks the ice and shatters her world.

A brilliant athlete inside the rink, Shea Adler is tired of the life he’s living outside of it: the girls, the money, the drinking. But everything changes when he meets Elli. After laying eyes on this feisty, witty, beautiful woman, he feels like he’s just taken the hardest hit of his life. No matter how skeptical she is, Shea knows they are meant to be together—if only he can convince Elli to put her insecurities aside throw her insecurities out the window before she misses out on a shot at love. --Goodreads

Trying to Score
By Toni Aleo

Publisher: Loveswept
Expected Publication: June 10, 2013

In a captivating novel of hockey and healing hearts, the newest member of the Nashville Assassins pulls a power play to make things right with the one that got away.

Fallon Parker’s dream has always been to turn her family’s wine company into a runaway success and eventually to start a cellar of her own. Since graduating from college, she has worked relentlessly to make that dream a reality, especially after taking a chance on love—and losing. By the time Fallon becomes an official sponsor of the Nashville Assassins, she feels like all her hard work is finally paying off. And then the man who broke her heart skates back into her life.

On the ice, Lucas Brooks is the NHL’s leading scorer—at least when he’s not in the box. Off the ice, he’s a mess, with all his anger and misery bottled up inside. He threw away the most important person in his life and has regretted it ever since. But when Lucas returns to Nashville in a trade, he’s determined to convince Fallon that he’s a changed man. The attraction is still there. The tension is electrifying. But the odds are stacked against them—especially after Lucas finds out that Fallon has been keeping a devastating secret. --Goodreads

Author Info:

Toni Aleo is a mother of two and married to her high school sweetheart. She enjoys spending time with her family and friends, reading the latest romance novel, taking pictures, and going to as many Nashville Predators game as she can!

Website     Goodreads     Facebook      Twitter

Cover Reveal: Raksha by Frankie Rose

Raksha by Frankie Rose

Expected Publication: March 1, 2013

She has no name. 

She has her knives; her training; her halo. 

The first and second give her the tools and the skill to defeat the opponents she is pitted against each month. The third frees her from pain and fear. From any kind of emotion at all. Everything is as it should be. Everything is as it should be, until… 

FearPainAngerHappinessDesireGuilt

Love.

When a newly-named Kit escapes the Sanctuary after killing her best friend, the last thing she needs is another knife in her hand. Or Ryka, the damaged, beautiful blonde boy, who she refuses to let save her. Still learning how to process the onslaught of her new feelings, the sights and sounds of Freetown are overwhelming and strange. There are a hundred differences between her old home and her new one, but one thing remains starkly similar: the matches. Yet where the blood in the Sanctuary landed only on the colosseum floor, Kit will quickly learn that a river of red runs through Freetown’s very streets. 

Freed from the oppression of a society who stole her right to feel, the true horror of her old life leaves Kit wondering if she really has been freed at all. Would she be better off without the crippling horror of all the blood on her hands, or is the love of one boy worth living through all the pain?

Raksha is the call of the dead. It is the rumbling chant for fresh blood from the other side, the demand for sacrifice. The colosseum is behind Kit. The fighting pits await. -Goodreads

Review: Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas

Throne of Glass (Throne of Glass #1)

By Sarah J. Maas

Published: August 7, 2012

Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Children's

Hardcover, 416 page

After serving out a year of hard labor in the salt mines of Endovier for her crimes, 18-year-old assassin Celaena Sardothien is dragged before the Crown Prince. Prince Dorian offers her her freedom on one condition: she must act as his champion in a competition to find a new royal assassin.

Her opponents are men-thieves and assassins and warriors from across the empire, each sponsored by a member of the king's council. If she beats her opponents in a series of eliminations, she'll serve the kingdom for three years and then be granted her freedom.

Celaena finds her training sessions with the captain of the guard, Westfall, challenging and exhilarating. But she's bored stiff by court life. Things get a little more interesting when the prince starts to show interest in her... but it's the gruff Captain Westfall who seems to understand her best.

Then one of the other contestants turns up dead... quickly followed by another. Can Celaena figure out who the killer is before she becomes a victim? As the young assassin investigates, her search leads her to discover a greater destiny than she could possibly have imagined. --Goodreads

5 stars

Review

Too often, fantasies focus on the magic and setting, instead of the actual plot line. Plot lines propel a novel forward, making it an adventure to read, rather than a monotonous soap opera. Luckily, Throne of Glass does a fabulous job in creating an epic adventure of an assassin striving for freedom.

I was first incredulous when I picked up Throne of Glass. The four novellas released prior to Throne of Glass were all let downs. I was expecting this adventure of Celaena's to be another downward pit, but instead, I discovered a true assassin who was full of life, even after all she suffered in the past year. 

Celaena seems to be an entirely different person from her past adventures in The Assassin and the Pirate Lord, Desert, Underworld and Empire. She has wit, showcases her fighting ability and is a very emotional character. Before, she was an arrogant, foolish assassin who believed too much in her ability and made many mistakes. Throne of Glass reveals a new Celaena who has changed after her year in Endovier, which I found intriguing to see and read about.

Love triangles are often overdone or pointless, as I have mentioned before. There are so many instances in which the love triangles are obvious from the beginning, e.g. Twilight saga, The Mortal Instruments series and Nightshade trilogy. Each of the examples present a love triangle with one relationship of obvious attraction, and one that is a lost cause. The love triangle in Throne of Glass is not the main focus of the book, which is pleasant. Rather, it's a plot device used to show the characters' hidden pain and emotions that otherwise would not be present. It is refreshing to see three characters who are all emotionally scarred in his or her own way bonding together because of their emotional pain. Romance is a subtle element of this book, but has a strong presence lingering through the pages.

I really enjoyed Throne of Glass to my surprise. I usually love all fantasies, but Throne of Glass has received some mixed reviews, so I was a little worried. There are those who complained about the mystery being too obvious and Celaena being bratty or ridiculous. The mystery was a bit odd, I admit, considering the magical aspects of Throne of Glass were briefly skimmed over in the beginning. Celaena did start out irritating in the novellas, but Throne of Glass has a heroine who will do anything to achieve her goals of freedom, making her a relatable character. Sarah J. Maas does a wonderful job in tying up some knots in Throne of Glass' conclusion, but still leaving many questions unanswered. In fact there are still many questions running about in my head, just waiting to be answered in Throne of Glass' sequel that I am dying to read.

Purchase this book: Amazon/ Barnes and Nobles/ The Book Depository

Review: Throne of Glass Novellas by Sarah J. Maas

In honor of Throne of Glass' release today, here's a review of the four novellas released during the past few months.

The Assassin and the Pirate Lord (Throne of Glass #0.1)

The Assassin and the Desert (Throne of Glass #0.2)

The Assassin and the Underworld (Throne of Glass #0.3)

The Assassin and the Empire (Throne of Glass #0.4)

By Sarah J. Maas

Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Children's

 

3.5 Stars

Review

The Throne of Glass Novellas are basically the setup to the conflicts of Throne of Glass. In other words, it's the explanation of "Why Celaena is in this crappy situation?" I have not yet read Throne of Glass, so I won't be able to say if the novellas did a wonderful job in building up the momentum for the first book of the series, but I will say the novellas were action-packed teasers that do prepare readers for Throne of Glass.

Celaena Sardothein is the ridiculously arrogant assassin living in her own bubble. Selfish and ruthless, Celaena obeys her adoptive father, Arobynn, without question, who in return gives her a lavish lifestyle. Until the day when Celaena and her former rival, Sam, disobey Arobynn's orders and have to face Arogynn's dangerous side. The novellas follow Celaena's journey of breaking free from Arobynn's grasp, while suffering hardships such as heartbreak and betrayal.

I usually obsess over high-fantasy assassin series for weeks before I let another book entrance me. Unfortunately, these four novellas didn't seem to grasp my attention as much as I would have liked; the plots were all exactly the same, Celaena doesn't seem to actively show her skill as the "greatest" assassin and the mystery aspect fell flat.

The first novella was a decent read. I enjoyed the romantic aspect of the novella between Celaena and Sam. Then, the second novella served no purpose beyond improving Celaena's already legendary assassin skills (which seems kind of pointless). Finally, the third novella just made me want to scream at Celaena for being so naive when she lives in such a dark, sinful world. She has no problem with the man who introduced her into seeing people at brothels or assassinating people. After all of the cruel punishments he deals out to her, she still trusts the evil guy. I won't even go onto the fourth novella, that was so predictable. After three novellas, it is pretty easy to figure out what Celaena will mess up yet again. 

There does not seem to be any hope for Throne of Glass redeeming its faulty novellas. Many of the negative reviews also acknowledge the lack of seeing "Celaena the assassin" and the flat love triangle. The romance in the novellas was so sweet and climatic, so I'm expecting a letdown with the love triangle. However, these four novellas proved to be a refreshing read for someone who wants to escape to a new fantasy realm for a short period of time.

Purchase these eBooks and Throne of Glass: Amazon/Barnes and Nobles